Luke Skywalker has returned to his home planet of Tatooine in an attempt to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt.

Little does Luke know that the GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly begun construction on a new armored space station even more powerful than the first dreaded Death Star.

When completed, this ultimate weapon will spell certain doom for the small band of rebels struggling to restore freedom to the galaxy...

Return of the Jedinote Also known as Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 film that completed Lucas' planned Space Opera trilogy and closed the door on the Star Wars film series until The Phantom Menace. Lucas still didn't direct but did involve himself more closely in the production this time.

Luke and company confront Jabba the Hutt to rescue Han, still frozen in carbonite. With the gauntlet being thrown down by the empire, the Rebels regroup to deal with the building of a new Death Star. A strike team is sent in to disable defenses and find unexpected allies in the primitive Ewoks, while the main fleet engages the superstructure in orbit. Luke finds himself drawn to conclude his rivalry with Darth Vader, with the fate of the galaxy and the Jedi legacy in balance.

The success of the first two films made the success of this one less of a worry. In fact, keeping the budget under control was one of the biggest issues. It turned out that locations were overcharging the production of The Empire Strikes Back, knowing it was the next Star Wars film. So the crew pretended to pitch the film to locations as a B horror movie, "Blue Harvest". Other problems were creative. Lawrence Kasdan wanted a darker ending. Harrison Ford wanted Han to have a Heroic Sacrifice (although that might have rendered the entire arc in Jabba's palace meaningless).

It was considered as the final chronological chapter of the Star Wars saga for three decades untilDisney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012 announced the production of the long-awaited sequel trilogy that began in 2015 with The Force Awakens.

Return of the Jedi provides examples of:

2-D Space: During the space portion of the Battle of Endor, all of the participants operate under this principle. The Death Star, along with the Rebel and Imperial fleets, are arrayed on a narrow plane parallel to the surface of the moon of Endor. Nobody appears to consider the possibility of moving in any direction other than towards the Death Star or the Imperial fleet formation. Even lateral movement away from the two Imperial obstacles is seemingly unfathomable. Also, During landing at Endor, Luke's party and the stormtroopers ignored that there is a sky right above them, and it nearly ends disastrously for Luke's party.

Acting Unnatural: During the approach to Endor in a stolen Imperial shuttle with a Star Destroyer watching their every move, Han tells Chewbacca: "I don't know... fly casual."

Luke and Leia's conversation about their mother where Luke reveals to her that they're brother and sister, and Vader is their father.

Vader and Luke's verbal duel on Endor. In that scene, Luke shows just how much he has matured in how he can fight with logic and rhetoric against his father with as much skill as with his lightsaber to the point that Vader now has to fend off Luke's mind games.

Luke being brought before the Emperor is this up until Luke's rage at the Rebellion falling apart in the battle boils over and he draws his saber on the Emperor.

Vader's funeral pyre at the end, establishing a sense of closure on Luke and his feelings towards his father before going on to the big celebration scene.

Aerial Canyon Chase: Flying into the Death Star, seeing as the Millennium Falcon is a rather skinny ship despite its width, whereas most Imperial fighters are as wide as they are tall.

The Rancor's death, with its handler weeping over its body. It even whimpers pitifully as it dies. The novelization expands on this, with Luke realizing that not only is the Rancor just an animal following its instincts, but that it's been malnourished, mistreated, and abused just so it will be more vicious when Jabba decides to feed people to it for entertainment. Luke rationalizes that the best way to deal with it would be to give it the means to put itself out of its misery, but that the beast can't comprehend that level of mercy, so Luke has to kill it.

The TIE Interceptor pilot that was following the Millennium Falcon as it flees the destruction of the death star. Normally, the TIE Interceptor is fast enough in sublight to easily overtake the Falcon, but with no room to maneuver (and likely no plans loaded into the navigation), the poor pilot has no choice but to follow the much slower YT-1300 out of the Death Star... he doesn't make it.

All There in the Manual: Even though the names Ewoks and Palpatine are widely known, they are never uttered once in this movie. They are only known through merchandising and Expanded Universe literature. Palpatine's name is first mentioned in the novelization of A New Hope and would at least get his name mentioned in the movies once the prequels came out.

And I Must Scream: In the novelization, Han describes the carbon freezing as "not just sleeping, but a big wide awake nothing."

Assurance Backfire: When Han Solo prepares to ambush a group of Stormtroopers on the forest moon, he tells Luke and Leia "Relax, it's me." They roll their eyes, telling the viewers succinctly that that's exactly what they're worried about.

Big Bad: Emperor Palpatine oversees the construction of the second Death Star and sets up a trap to eliminate the entire Rebel Alliance. The Emperor also plays off Luke's emotions and desires to try and turn him to the Dark Side.

Big Damn Heroes: Ironically, the Ewoks were these when the Rebels were ambushed by Imperial forces by the shield generator.

Big "NEVER!": Luke, when Vader threatens to turn Leia to the Dark Side instead of him.

Big "NO!": The new Blu-Ray edition of the film adds a "No...NO!" (supposedly as a retroactive callback to Revenge of the Sith) when Vader throws Palpatine to his death.

Bilingual Bonus: Nien Nunb, Lando's co-pilot, speaks a Kenyan dialect called Haya. The lines were delivered by Kipsang Rotich, a Kenyan student living in the US, and are actually correct Hayan translations of the English text.

Jabba's love of theatrics backfires with both the Rancor pit and the Sarlacc. In the Rancor's case, the concept is sound but the switch that controls the gate was left within reach of its victims. With the Sarlacc, he insists on executing Luke and company in the most dramatic way possible despite having just seen another Gladiator Games-style demise fail.

Palpatine plans his strategy around breaking the morale of the Rebellion before destroying them utterly, which he sees as a means to the end of turning Luke to the Dark Side. At no point does he take into account the possibility that the Rebels might defeat his inefficiently deployed fleet, nor that Anakin might not like seeing his son tortured to death in front of him.

Character Development: At this point in the saga Luke has completed his training with Yoda. It shows; he's become a patient, disciplined warrior who can match Darth Vader physically and intellectually. One notable example goes to Luke using the Force to lift C-3PO after his inability to lift his X-Wing in the previous film.

Chase Scene: Luke and Leia are sneaking through the forests of Endor, looking to find the secret Imperial base, only to get caught by two Stromtroopers, who board hover-bikes and speed away to inform the Empire of the Rebels' whereabouts. From there, the two heroes board their own bikes and dodge hundreds of trees in their ways to take down the two Stormtroopers, although Leia ends up separated from Luke and the main Rebel group in the process.

Chekhov's Skill: C-3P0's interpreter skills come in handy when the Rebels recruit the Ewoks to their side against the Empire.

Cold-Blooded Torture: Any droids that displease Jabba the Hutt are sent to be branded and burned as punishment. Don't ask how exactly the droids feel pain.

Cool Starship: This entry in the series introduces several new ones; the Imperial Shuttle, the A-Wing, the B-Wing, and several new Mon Calamari capital warships in the Rebel fleet. Especially Admiral Ackbar's flagship, which based on size comparison to other ships is not only bigger than the average Mon Calimari cruiser but also at least twice the size of an Imperial Star Destroyer.

The film's promotional posters showed Luke with a blue lightsaber instead of the green one he wields in the film. It was originally supposed to be blue, but in post production they found that the blue was too difficult to see against the blue sky during the sail barge scenes, so they changed it to green, but the posters had already been created. And one famous example◊ had the film's scrapped title Revenge of the Jedi; it showed Luke with a red lightsaber fighting Vader, who has a blue one.

One foreign poster for the film shows Darth Vader's head exploding. It's meant to foreshadow Vader's death, but his death wasn't nearly as extreme in the actual film.

Crazy Enough to Work: Realizing that they won't have a second chance at destroying the Death Star, the Rebel Fleet closes to point blank range with the Imperials. In this case, they don't even think it'll work, it's just that they'll survive longer going toe to toe with the Star Destroyers than they will hanging out in the open for the Death Star to pick off. And they'll take a few of the Imperials down with them. The novelization goes the extra mile to explain that this was, tactically speaking, a sound choice when compared to the alternative. Cruisers vs. Star Destroyers aside, either the Death Star will fire on the Rebel ships, risking hitting its own Star Destroyers and clearing a path for the Rebels to escape, or it will hold its fire, allowing the Rebels and Star Destroyers to fight in peace.note "Hugging the enemy" at point blank range when they have superior artillery power, so they can't bring it to bear without risking hitting their own troops, is actually a tried-and-true military tactic. The Soviets' superiority in artillery often forced the Germans to do this after the winter of 1941-2, the PLA did this against U.N. forces throughout The Korean War, and guerilla forces the world over (Vietnam, Algeria, etc. etc.) have done this ever since the 1950s and the proliferation of artillery. That's not to say it's automatically a winning tactic, but it does negate an enemy's artillery/fire-support advantages.

The Imperial navy curbstomps the Rebel fleet until they figure out a strategy to counter-attack.

Luke holds back against Vader for a long time and tries to avoid fighting him, but finally get provoked into an Unstoppable Rage and defeats him.

Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Obi-Wan calls Darth Vader "more machine now than man; twisted and evil", with the clear implication that his cybernetics have damaged his humanity. In the end, Luke stares at his father's cybernetic hand and his own; this triggers the realization that if he kills Vader, he will become just as evil.

Dark Reprise: Yoda's death music is a sad reprise of his theme and the Force theme.

Darker and Edgier: A character example. Luke's entrance sees him Force-choking two guards to get them out of his way, just to emphasize how much he has changed since his first appearance in the saga. Though unlike his father and all his You Have Failed Me moments, Luke appears to only render the guards unconscious.

David vs. Goliath: The Rebel Alliance in general, but in particular, A-wing vs. Super Star Destroyer. As Admiral Ackbar and his bridge crew watch the massive starship plummet into the Death Star with its bridge tower aflame, Ackbar just flops into his chair, jaw agape in disbelief, while everyone else cheers.

Death-or-Glory Attack: Once the second Death Star is revealed to be both operational and capable of targeting individual ships, the Alliance leadership realizes that their only chance for survival — slim as it is — lies in attacking the Executor and its supporting fleet head-on.

Defeat Equals Explosion: The Emperor explodes on impact after being thrown down the reactor shaft at the climax of the film.

Jabba as well, though he doesn't take the threat Luke poses seriously. His mistake. That includes Luke's supposedly last statement to Jabba above the mouth of the Sarlacc, "This is your last chance; free us or die!" Jabba laughs at the absurd thought of the Jedi being so defiant in the face of his own death as to threaten him. However Jabba sees to his shock Luke beginning to carry out that threat with overwhelming force.

Luke to Vader and Palpatine, refusing to turn to the dark side, despite their persistent efforts.

Distinctive Appearances: The reason why Luke's lightsaber blade is green in the finished cut of the film. In the early stages of rotoscoping, Luke's saber had a blue energy blade. However, his blue lightsaber didn't show up well against the blue sky during the Tatooine sail barge battle. Changing the saber to green fixed the problem. The fact that the green blade is obviously brand-new (unlike the blue one, where it wasn't obvious) also allowed the deletion of an early scene in the film, where we would've seen Luke finishing work on his new lightsaber. Luke's blue saber can still be seen in the original trailers, plus all the poster art for the film.

Early-Bird Cameo: The special edition added a scene with Coruscant, which gave fans a good look at the Empire's capitol planet about two years before The Phantom Menace came out.

Earn Your Happy Ending: After much hardship throughout the movies (both the original and prequel trilogies), Palpatine and his Empire have been defeated and the Galaxy is now free from the tyranny of the Dark Lord of the Sith. Luke may have lost his father, Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, but he had managed to bring him back to the good side, and at the end he could see the spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin again, smiling and baring him a happy farewell. The Force Awakens downplays this somewhat as the First Order has succeeded the Empire 30 years since this film's end, though they have nowhere near the amount of control over the Galaxy that their predecessors did.

Environmental Symbolism: Emperor Palpatine's throne room features muted colors and angular structures. The only splashes of colors, the red Royal Guards, were pointedly sent away. The only colors in the fight are the lightsabers and Luke's face.

Everything Is an Instrument: The Ewok celebration scene at the end of the movie shows one Ewok using sticks hitting stormtrooper helmets as a drum set.

Jabba forgot to check number 122 when he had his sail barge built: "The gun turrets on my fortress will not rotate enough so that they may direct fire inward or at each other."

Palpatine forgot many of them, but a key one would be 77: "If I have a fit of temporary insanity and decide to give the hero the chance to reject a job as my trusted lieutenant, I will retain enough sanity to wait until my current trusted lieutenant is out of earshot before making the offer." Not that Vader turned on the Emperorbecause he didn't want to lose his job.

Evil Plan: Everything that transpires before the final act does so according to the Emperor's design, as he is the one who allowed the Alliance to know the location of the shield generator so they would walk into a trap just when Luke is facing him.

Han: Threepio, you tell that slimy piece of worm-ridden... filth, that he'll get no such pleasure from us!

Failsafe Failure: Executor is 19 kilometers long and has inhabitable space comparable to a major city. Yet destroying the main bridge, conveniently positioned prominently at the front of the highest tower on the ship, can apparently send the entire thing into a nosedive, with the many thousands of crew members aboard unable to do anything to stop it. Even worse, there is apparently no backup bridge, because Admiral Piett's reaction to being told that their deflector shield is down is to order increased firepower focused on defense, which technically might have stopped the incoming fighter had they reacted a bit faster, but would have done nothing to protect against turbolaser or ion cannon fire from Rebel capital ships. It is possible that the backups themselves were destroyed, given that Ackbar just ordered the entire Rebel fleet to fire on it.

In the EU, imperial engineers are aware of the vulnerability of Star Destroyer Bridges, and compensate with a more centrally located combat information center to serve as a backup. Unfortunately, it takes several minutes to transfer command of the Destroyer from the bridge to the CIC, which the Executor didn't have due to its close proximity to the Death Star when its bridge was destroyed.

One of Jabba's dancing girls is quite lithe and lovely; the other is... not.

Sure, Leia's slave outfit is Fanservice in and of itself, but also consider that she's forced to wear this outfit as part of her slave duties with the lecherous Jabba the Hutt.

Fanservice: Why else would you have Carrie Fisher laying around in a gold metal bikini? Be Careful What You Wish For: Word of God says it's because Carrie Fisher had complained about how boring her wardrobe from the two previous films was. She would describe it as "what supermodels will eventually wear in the 7th ring of hell".

Fed to the Beast: Luke getting trapdoor'd into the Rancor pit. Additionally, the Sarlacc pit serves as the current page image.

Final Battle: In the a battle to decide whether the a galaxy will be free or continue to live under the Empire, the Rebels attack the Empire's shield base on Endor, launch an aerial offensive on the Death Star, and send Luke Skywalker to battle his evil father, Darth Vader, and the man behind all the wars in the galaxy, the Galactic Emperor himself.

Final Speech: Yoda gives one to Luke before dying, and later, Vader does too.

Flaunting Your Fleets: One particular shot shows that the Imperial armada over Endor is positively gigantic.

Fluffy the Terrible: According to EU material, Jabba's pet rancor was called 'Pateesa', Huttese for "friend". It was apparently a birthday present from Bib Fortuna.

Forgot About His Powers: When Leia goes missing it never seems to even occur to Luke to try to reach her through the Force, the way that he did on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back. Instead he recommends a physical search and the use of Artoo's scanners. Justified that, since he was half dead on Bespin when he did it, he may not even remember he's able to do it.

When Luke is being escorted back to the turbolift after his talk with Vader on Endor, a stormtrooper, who apparently overheard the conversation, can be seen turning to stare at him.

When Threepio explains that the Ewoks think he is a god, Luke is seen trying not to laugh. Especially during the following exchange, where either Mark Hamill is Corpsing terribly, or Luke finds the whole situation hilarious:

Han: Then why don't you use your divine influence and get us out of this? Threepio: I beg your pardon, General Solo, but that just wouldn't be proper. Han: Proper?!Threepio: It's against my programming to impersonate a deity.

When Admiral Ackbar is ordering the jump to hyperspace, an extra in the background is having trouble finding one of the monitors.

For the Special Edition and onward: They added in a bizarre musical number in Jabba's palace in place of the original, which leads into the original scene of the Twilek dancer being fed to the rancor.note They also filmed a new scene with Oola in the pit as the rancor advances on her, even using the old actress, who didn't look as though she'd aged much over the last 14 years. The sarlacc was given extra tentacles and a beak. And the final musical number was replaced, playing over an extensive Nations of the World Montage that included Bespin, Tatooine, and Coruscant (the latter never visited in the original trilogy) celebrating the massive victory against the Empire.

For the DVD version and onward, Hayden Christensen was spliced into the footage where Anakin's force ghost appears next to Obi-Wan and Yoda, replacing Sebastian Shaw. This same edit also burned off Anakin's eyebrows in his unmasking since he lost them in his immolation scene in Revenge of the Sith. Shaw, however, still speaks and is seen in the unmasking in all versions. A shot of Naboo (like Coruscant, never visited in the original trilogy) was added to the Nations of the World Montage at the end.

For the Blu-ray version, Vader lets out a Big "NO!" while saving Luke from the Emperor, as a callback to Revenge of the Sith.

Luke: If I don't make it back, you're the only hope for the Alliance. Leia: Luke, don't talk that way! You have a power I don't understand and could never have. Luke: You're wrong, Leia. You have that power too. In time you'll learn to use it as I have. ...The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. And... my sister has it. Yes. It's you, Leia.

History Repeats: Just like the start of Revenge of the Sith that heralded the fall of the Old Republic, the end of Return of the Jedi features a gigantic space battle with Palpatine, the brilliant mastermind orchestrating events to his advantage, sitting back on his throne and observing it all as his agents, now Darth Vader rather than Count Dooku, oppose the forces of good trying to hold back the darkness, now Luke Skywalker rather than Anakin Skywalker, and like his father before him, Luke is confronted with a choice, to spare the villain, though unlike his father, he chooses the right path and rejects the dark side, which leads to Vader's redemption and finally restoring peace to the galaxy and bringing balance to the Force.

Hoist by His Own Petard: The chain Jabba uses to control and humiliate Leia becomes the thing she uses to kill him.

Hope Spot: Luke manages to carry and drag an injured Vader to a working ship to escape the crumbling Death Star, but Vader dies before he can get him proper medical attention.

Hyperspeed Ambush: The Rebel fleet comes out of hyperspace en masse near the Death Star II in order to surround it and cover the attack squadrons that will fly inside the half-constructed space station to destroy it. The Imperial Fleet appears soon after to trap the Rebel fleet.

Imaginary Love Triangle: Han mistakenly thinks Leia is secretly in love with Luke, and is relieved to find out at the end that she was only upset from finding out they're twins and Vader is her father.

Vader: Yes. Your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong, especially for...sister. So...you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her too.

It Only Works Once: The film doesn't directly state it, but the briefing room scene pretty much implies that the Exhaust Port weakness used to bring down the first Death Star isn't gonna work this time, forcing the rebels to make a daring suicide mission by having their starfighters fly directly inside of the unfinished space station to attack the reactor.

Jet Pack: Boba Fet has one as part of his armor. He uses it to fly around during the protagonists' escape from Jabba the Hutt, and it's accidentally activated by Han Solo hitting it.

Just Between You and Me: Just before the battle begins, the Emperor brags to Luke that there is an entire legion of his best troops on Endor who will handle his friends and the Imperial Fleet knows the Rebels are coming. This is actually a subversion, as there is absolutely nothing Luke can do to change the outcome. In addition, this serves to make Luke angry, upset, and hating enough for the Dark Side to kick in.

Lighter and Softer: The Empire Strikes Back is strikingly dark in tone. This one has teddy bears.

Lonely Funeral: Luke is the only one at Anakin's pyre, since he's the only person who saw what happened in the Emperor's throne room and knows that Anakin died a good person.

Look Behind You: Played for Laughs. In the skiff battle, Chewbacca warns the still half-blind Han that Boba Fett is behind him. He's telling the truth, and when Han whirls around to check, he accidentally strikes Boba Fett's jetpack, causing it to misfire and send him flying off of the skiff.

Low Clearance: A Storm Trooper falls victim to a rope strung between two trees on Endor, which violently snags him off of his speederbike.

Loyalty Mission: Han Solo is unable to commit fully to the Rebellion due to the bounty placed on his head by Jabba the Hutt. It's not until the debt is... rather forcibly cleared by Luke, Leia, and the gang that he's free and clear to kick Imperial ass and woo beautiful princesses.

At the end of Empire, Vader cuts off Luke's hand, signaling Luke's defeat by the Dark Side. At the end of this film, Luke cuts off Vader's hand... signaling that Luke is dangerously close to succumbing to the Dark Side. (For bonus symbolism points, Vader's hand is already cybernetic.) It's also the same hand Vader cut off Luke, and Luke's wearing a black glove to cover damage to the covering of his prosthetic hand sustained in the barge fight earlier in the film, and Luke finds himself staring at the gloved prosthetic hand when he's got Vader at his mercy. Just in case anyone in the audience didn't get the point.

In Empire Vader tells Luke that he doesn't know the power of the Dark Side to tempt him with great strength. In Jedi he says it again, this time to tell Luke that he can't side with him and betray the Emperor because he doesn't stand a chance against the Dark Side's power.

Metaphorically True: Obi-Wan's explanation of what happened to Luke's father; as far as he's concerned, the good man that was Anakin Skywalker died when he betrayed the Jedi Order, so he was technically telling the truth.

Mohs Scale of Violence Hardness: It rated a 3, primarily due to some droid torture, Oola and Jubnuk the Gamorrean guard being eaten by the Rancor, and plenty of other explosive mayhem that's fairly tame compared to the other Star Wars episodes.

Mutual Kill: Darth Vader throws the Emperor into a pit to his death, but ends up short-circuiting his suit and sealing his fate.

So, Vader has finally captured his son and is ready to convert him to the Dark Side. As he gloats about the Emperor's victory, Luke replies "Then my father is truly dead." After Luke is escorted to a turbolift, Vader leans on a railing, conflicted over what to do next.

Subverted in the long run; it led to the Ewoks agreeing to help the Rebels and without the Ewoks to bolster them by sheer numbers, there's no way the Rebel party would have made it past the Imperials guarding the bunker.

The Emperor encouraging Luke be aggressive and kill Vader is not this trope. While killing his father in a moment of passion might have worked, to do so deliberately and knowingly would have been more effective. However, his gleefully telling Luke to finish him does cause Luke to have his Heel Realization - and Palpatine had no problems TRICKING people into the Dark Side before anyway.

Emperor Palpatine attempting to torture Luke to death via Force Lightning is what finally got Vader/Anakin to redeem himself and turn away from the Dark Side, starting with hurling Palaptine to his Disney Villain Death.

No Endor Holocaust: Trope Namer. Word of God stated that popular Internet fan theories — namely, that the destruction of the Death Star would have caused massive destruction on Endor as well due to the falling debris — are not correct.

No More Lies: Obi-Wan has no choice but to at last tell Luke the real truth on Dagobah.

No OSHA Compliance: Zig-zagged. The Emperor's throne room does have railings over the 90km chasm. On the other hand, superlaser control still has two guys standing next to the planet-destroying laser without a railing.

No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: Averted in that it is heavily implied that the Empire figured out how Luke managed to destroy the first Death Star and redesigned the second one with thick anti-fighter defenses and no two-meter wide exhaust port. However, these advances are negated by tricking the Rebels into attacking when the superstructure is still open enough to allow ships into the interior of the station. All part of the plan. The Death Star and the Emperor himself were the bait to lure the Rebel fleet into a position where it could easily be destroyed. The Death Star had to be vulnerable enough for the Rebels to think they had a realistic shot at destroying it.

Non-Protagonist Resolver: While Luke does go to face the Emperor, it is Vader who throws the Emperor to his death by redeeming himself.

Noodle Incident: Mon Mothma doesn't elaborate on how exactly they got the intel about the Second Death Star, other than to mention that it involved the deaths of many Bothans. She looks particularly distraught when she brings it up.note It is explained in the Canon Discontinuity Shadows of the Empire series that the rebels took the plans from an Imperial Freighter called the Suprosa. A Diamond Boron Missile was fired from the freighter into a Bothan Y-Wing squadron resulting in their deaths.

Not So Different: Luke realizes this upon seeing that he cut off Vader's hand the exact same way Vader cut off his hand in the last movie, only to see Vader's hand was already cybernetic. This was enough of a shock that shows him what he would become if he gave in to the Dark Side.

Off-the-Shelf FX: At least one of the X-wings seen in the Battle of Endor was an officially licensed model kit from MPC.

Jerjerrod: [The Emperor] asks the impossible! I need more men! Vader: Then perhaps you can tell him when he arrives. Jerjerrod: (shocked) The Emperor's coming here?!Vader: That is correct, Commander. And he is most displeased with your apparent lack of progress. Jerjerrod: We shall double our efforts! The station will be completed on time! Vader: I hope so, Commander, for your sake. The Emperoris not as forgiving as I am.

While we obviously can't see Vader's reaction, he clearly has one of these when Luke taps into the Dark Side at the thought of Leia being corrupted and turned and comes after him, determined to kill him.

While Luke demands that Jabba free his friends, C-3PO noticed Luke was standing on the trap door to the Rancor's Pit and tried to warm him. But was interrupted by Jabba. Notice that Luke's eyes drifted to 3PO, then back to Jabba.

C-3PO: Master Luke, you're standing on— Jabba:(in Huttese) There will be no bargain, young Jedi!

Pet the Dog: The Rancor keeper's inconsolable reaction to Luke killing the monster, although more played for laughs, managed to garner a bit more sympathy than expected. As Roger Ebert said, "Everybody loves somebody." Think about it: the Rancor is just an animal, it doesn't have any choice in who it fights. Like if Luke was thrown into a lion pit and had to kill it.

Please Wake Up: During the battle on Endor, an Ewok is shot dead and another one comes up to it, crying and pushing the dead one to wake up.

Precision Crash: During the final battle, an A-Wing is hit, loses control, veers off quite a ways, and crashes into the bridge of the Executor, which then crashes into the Death Star and explodes.

Putting the Band Back Together: Twice, actually. The gang reunites on Tatooine to save Han, and later they formally get back together for Han's planned strike against the shield generator on the forest moon of Endor.

Rage Breaking Point: Luke really tries not to let his anger get in the way when he's confronting Vader, but Vader then threatens to take the last of his family from him.

Reality Ensues: During the Battle of Endor, the Ewoks attempt their own version of the trick the Rebels used to destroy AT-ATs in the previous film, by trying to trip up an AT-ST with a rope. Unfortunately, a bunch of small animals holding onto a rope isn't quite comparable to a harpoon and steel cable, and they just get dragged along for the ride (though the same method does have more success unseating scouts from their speeder bikes).

Reality Has No Subtitles: The Ewoks are incomprehensible to all but some of the characters who share the screen with them.

Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: Once the Endor Shield array is destroyed and the Emperor is killed, Imperial crewmen, guards, stormtroopers, officers, and pilots begin to flee the doomed Death Star. They are seen running to evacuate the station when Luke and Anakin make it to the escape shuttle.

Lando: Yes, I said closer! Move as close as you can, and engage those Star Destroyers at point-blank range! Ackbar: At that range, we won't last long against those Star Destroyers! Lando: We'll last longer than we will against that Death Star! And we might just take a few of them with us!

Separated at Birth: Luke and Leia discover that they were twins who were sent to live on different planets to protect them from their father, who helped to maintain the Empire's tyrannical rule and served as the main villain of the last film.

Series Fauxnale: As of the announcement the films will continue for at least three more with the buying of Lucasfilm by Disney.

Sheathe Your Sword: Luke attempts to do this during his fight with Vader as Palpatine reminds him that as he becomes more aggressive he shifts more towards the Dark Side.

Ship Sinking: Arguably the most famous application of the trope in modern-day pop culture as it's revealed that Luke and Leia are siblings, with the added side effect of transforming the Luke-Leia shippy moments from Episodes IV and V and spin-off works such as the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye into Squick.

Shoot the Messenger: Jabba thumps Threepio whenever he translates a response he doesn't like. Also implied in the earlier comment: "We have been without an interpreter since our master got angry at our last protocol droid and disintegrated him."

Sidekick Ex Machina: Chewbacca hijacks an Imperial walker and rescues Han and Leia from Stormtroopers during the Battle of Endor.

So Proud of You: As the unmasked Vader dies, he tells Luke "You were right about me. Tell your sister...you were right". His smile says this trope more plainly than words ever could (See Go Out with a Smile above).

Spanner in the Works: The Emperor would have gotten away with destroying the Rebel fleet and the ground troops on Endor if it weren't for those meddling Ewoks, and Chewie's brilliant idea to hijack one of the walkers. That's the real turning point of the ground battle (which trickled down [up?] to the space battle when the generator went up in flames). Now, as far as Luke was concerned, a total victory over the Alliance probably would not have been enough to save The Emperor from a Disney Villain Death anyway.

Standard Starship Scuffle: The Battle of Endor starts out more as a Battle of Midway-style melee, with snub fighters attacking the enemy capital ships, but once the Death Star cranks up its superlaser the Rebel cruisers have no choice but to go in and engage the Imperial Star Destroyers toe-to-toe so that at least the Death Star can't get a clear shot at them - a move that is somewhat reminiscent of the Battle off Samar but could be compared to a lot of different surface ship engagements.

Suicidal "Gotcha!": Luke is willing to jump off a plank directly above a giant monster to fool the guards. With his Jedi reflexes, Luke has no problem grabbing the plank at the last second, jumping several feet in the air, grab his lightsaber as R2-D2 fires it at him, and land on the ship ready for a fight.

The doomed A-wing pilot flying his own ship into the bridge of the Executor. He succeeds in taking down the ship and taking fleet Admiral Piett with him (Piett is the last of the major villains in the film to lose; he barely outlives Anakin's redemption and the Emperor, though Anakin/Vader is the last villain to physically die, doing so after the Executor has already plowed into the Death Star and finished Piett off. No word on Moff Jerjerrod's fate).

Lando's reasoning for engaging the Star Destroyers at close range after it's revealed that the Death Star's main weapon is operational.

Lando: Yes, I said closer! Move as close as you can, and engage those Star Destroyers at point blank range! Ackbar: At that close range, we won't last long against those Star Destroyers. Lando We'll last longer than we will against that Death Star! (ship rocks) And we might just take a few of them with us!

Tell Me About My Father: Luke asks Leia about her 'real' mother, hoping to find out more about the woman who gave birth to them. Unfortunately their mother died when Leia was very young (extremely young, according to Revenge of the Sith) and so she only has very vague memories of her, to Luke's disappointment.

Han commenting "I hate long waits" and "That doesn't sound so bad", before being told he's up for an incredibly long and excruciating death by Sarlaac.

Lando promises Han that the Falcon "won't get a scratch!". On the way into the Death Star the Falcon's communication dish is knocked off.

Thanks for the Mammaries: Late in the film, there is a scene where Leia gets shot in the arm. Han rushes over to help her and tries to steady her arm, but he very briefly grabs something else...

That Man Is Dead: As far as Obi-Wan is concerned, Anakin Skywalker died and Vader was born when his former friend turned to the dark side and betrayed the Jedi. Vader himself denies he has anything to do with Anakin anymore. He's wrong.

Luke: I have accepted that truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father. Vader: That name no longer has any meaning for me. Luke: It's the name of your true self. You've only forgotten.

Later in that scene, Luke agrees with the "That Man Is Dead" interpretation to throw Vader off.

Turn the Other Fist: Luke Skywalker seems to turn away from the Emperor's taunting but suddenly swings back to grab his saber and take a swipe at the Emperor. Vader blocks it.

Tyrannicide: Darth Vader returns to the light and kills the Emperor by throwing him down the Death Star reactor shaft. His death signals the beginning of the end of the Empire's tyranny, sparking uprisings and celebrations on a number of planets. The Expanded Universe goes into more detail about it, showing that the Empire fractured without Palpatine or Vader's leadership, making it all the more easy for the Rebels, now known as the New Republic, to liberate Imperial-held space.

Under Crank: Used to create the backgrounds for the speeder bike chase.

Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Luke doesn't share any specifics about his plan to save Han, but despite his worries, succeeds after all.

Unstoppable Rage: Luke defeating Vader after he is about to threaten to take Leia away in some way.

Vehicular Turnabout: Chewbacca and a pair of Ewoks famously commandeer an AT-ST, and essentially became the pivotal combatants who turned the whole fight around for the Rebels, both on the ground and in orbit.

Victorious Chorus: The soundtrack has a choral piece when the fireworks are going off on Endor, celebrating the destruction of the second Death Star and the defeat of The Empire. Originally, this was an Ewok-flavored song called "Ewok Celebration", often known as "Yub Nub". Revised versions of the film from the Special Edition onward have a more traditional piece called "Victory Celebration".

Vader: I hope so, Commander, for your sake. The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am.

Also, when Threepio gets shanghaied as Jabba's translator, EV-9D9 tells him that she is thrilled, since they've been without a protocol droid ever since Jabba got angry with the last one and disintegrated him.

George Lucas said that the reason Luke sought Yoda to confirm Vader's revelation was because discussing with a psychologist he learned that most people would assume that Vader was lying, and it was all just mind games. Luke needed a respected figure to get proof.

James Earl Jones said that, when he first read the line, his first thought was, "Oh, [Vader's] lying!"

Vine Swing: Chewbacca attacks an AT-ST walker during the battle of Endor by swinging at it on a vine. He even makes a sound similar toTarzan's yell.

War Is Hell: A subtle example when the Rebel fleet manages to blow up the Super Star Destoyer; while Admiral Ackbar's staff cheer, Ackbar himself just slumps sadly in his command chairnote The Executor, according to Wookiepedia, has a standard crew of over 280,000. If her full complement of ground troops were on board, add another 38,000 to that number. That's (roughly) between a quarter and a third of a million sentient beings that died all at once.

After Han Solo accidentally activates Boba Fett's jetpack, the bounty hunter goes flying and slams into the side of Jabba's barge in a way reminiscent of George's typical encounters with trees in George of the Jungle.

Important to remember when you're on an ultra fast speeder bike flying through an incredibly thick forest. Also, don't turn around to check behind you, as one of the scout-troopers learned the hard way.

Wave Motion Gun: The Death Star II is armed with a canon just as powerful as the first planet-destroyer, except this one only needs a few minutes to charge up and fire, though this could be from not charging to full power, as they are only shooting at ships. At full power, the superlaser would probably not just destroy any rebel ship, but punch straight through, keep on going, and possibly take out one of their own Star Destroyers behind them.

Palpatine: Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny, and take your father's place at my side.

We Need a Distraction: The Rebels use distractions several times on Endor to open up the stormtroopers to attack, including one time where R2-D2 and C-3PO reveal themselves to the Stormtroopers while the friendly natives rally to rescue the captured Rebels.

"It was I who allowed the Alliance to learn the location of the shield generator. I assure you, it is quite safe from your pitiful little band."

And then the Emperor ups the ante yet again: "Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battlestation!"

The film drops the Wham Line even before that; much is made of the Rebel fleet rallying at the planet Sullust, believing that they're planning a surprise attack. Right after, the film cuts to Vader asking the Emperor, "What of the reports of the Rebel fleet massing near Sullust?"

Yoda gives this to Luke after confirming that Vader was indeed Luke's father, realizing the only way Luke could have suspected it is if Vader told him, and thus Vader could only have told him if Luke recklessly attacked Vader before his training was completed.

Luke has his own to Yoda during the same exchange.

Yoda: Unexpected this is. And unfortunate.

Luke: Unfortunate that I know the truth?

Yoda: No. Unfortunate that you rushed to face him. That incomplete was your training. That not ready for the burden were you.

Luke later is angry with Obi-Wan for lying to him about Vader, and deliberately pitting him against his own father.

"World of Cardboard" Speech: Luke's declaration to the Emperor that he has become a Jedi. Everything about that sequence was about making Luke angry enough to kill Vader and become the new apprentice to Palpatine, thus demonstrating his skill and maturity by not making the killing blow and refusing to fight anymore; his character arc had become complete.

Wretched Hive: As dangerous and seedy as Mos Eisley Cantina was, it's a knitting circle compared to Jabba's Palace. The worst criminals, psychopaths and misfits in the Galaxy, all in one bloody, lewd, booze-soaked cesspool.

X-Ray Sparks: Rare non-humorous example. When Vader lifts Palpatine over his head to save Luke, Palpatine inadvertently hits himself, but Vader also conducts it, revealing flashes of his skull, but not the Emperor's.

Pulled off by the heroes in Jabba's Palace. If Leia succeeds at getting Han out of the palace, Lando can get Chewbacca (and, presumably, C-3PO & R2-D2 out). If Leia is caught — Luke can go in. If Luke is captured, R2-D2 has Luke's lightsaber. Even if Jabba thinks things are going his way, they're really going Luke's. The only thing that goes out of place was when Luke gets kicked to the rancor pit, which he makes short work of anyway.

Also the second death star itself. Either the Rebel Alliance attacks it while it's still under construction and gets destroyed in the process, or they don't and the Empire has another superweapon to terrorize the entire galaxy with (one that, according to EU materials, did not share the weaknesses of it's predecessor).

EV-9D9: Ah, good, new acquisitions! You are a protocol droid, are you not? C-3PO: I am C-3PO, human/cyborg— EV-9D9: Yes or no will do. C-3PO: Umm... yes.

You Answered Your Own Question: As the Rebel fleet is approaching the second Death Star, Lando gets word that they can't tell if the deflector shield protecting it is up or down because of jamming, prompting him to ask, "How could they be jamming us if they don't know...that we're coming. Break off! The shield is still up!"

You Rebel Scum!: Trope Namer. An Imperial officer says this when the Rebels are captured during their raid on the shield generator. In a deleted scene, Han takes offense at that.

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